


More than Just a Goodbye

by tsukist



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Best Friends, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt, Fights, Gen, Injury, Injury Recovery, Just Friends, Male Friendship, Serious Injuries, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-08-31 15:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8584549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukist/pseuds/tsukist
Summary: Kiyoshi's injury disables him and he isn't able to play in the Winter Cup.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyuga and Kiyoshi fight!

His smile faltered. That sincere, familiar grin that Hyuga had come to know cracked, and for just a moment he saw beneath the mask of the teenager’s unwavering, seemingly naive happiness. That almost unnoticeable fault was all it took.

“Hyuga,” Kiyoshi spoke his name with a confused edge to his usually gentle voice. “Is this some sort of joke?” He laughed half-heartedly, although Hyuga could see the desperation and fear creeping into his deep brown eyes. “You can't possibly be serious.”

Maybe it was the grim expression on Hyuga’s face, or the way that his gray eyes darted away each time they made eye contact—although, it could've been something as simple as his unusually soft tone. Whatever it may have been, Kiyoshi knew that this was not a joke. Hyuga was completely serious.

“I’m sorry.” Hyuga tried to keep his voice level, but he couldn’t stand the way Kiyoshi was looking down at him with such a pained and confused expression. “I wish that this was a joke,” he muttered, staring past Kiyoshi.

Kiyoshi bit his lip. He wasn't sure how to feel. Sadness and confusion and frustration clouded his mind, and he couldn't get a clear idea through the fog. A false hope within still tried to convince him that it was some sort of joke and that the team was just testing him, but he knew that this couldn't be true.

”Why?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

“Because I’m the captain, and I have to make these kinds of decisions for the team.” Hyuga regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth.

“And I’m the founder of this team, Hyuga,” Kiyoshi stated as calmly as possible, clearly trying his best to compose himself despite the situation. “Seirin is like my family. Didn't we promise that we'd go to the Winter Cup together?”

“Kiyoshi-”

“Didn't you promise me?” he asked, barely hiding the crack in his voice. “We were going to-”

“Calm down.”

“Are you listening to me, Hyuga?” Kiyoshi was desperate now, scanning his friend's face for some sign of compassion. “You promised-”

“Are _you_ listening to _me?_ You're injured, so you can't play. You're usele-” Hyuga cut himself off, but it was too late.

Kiyoshi stared down at Hyuga dumbly, his mouth dry and his eyes moist. Anger was coursing through every vein in his body, but he couldn't react because he knew that Hyuga didn't mean it.

He didn't mean it, right?

“Kiyoshi, I-”

“It's fine,” Kiyoshi cut him off, a forced, half-smile forming on his lips. “It's for the best, right?”

Hyuga was rendered speechless. The sound of his heart beating drummed in his ears and seemed to echo off of the gymnasium walls, the only other sound being the pattering of rain against the metal roof.

“Why don't we talk about this another time? It's getting late.”

Hyuga’s breath caught in his throat, and he couldn't find the courage to ask him to stay. He hadn't planned for this to hurt him so much—it was supposed to be quick and painless.

“I'll see you in class, Hyuga.”

Hyuga noticed the slightest hesitation in his voice and realized that it would no longer be “see you at practice”. 

Kiyoshi gave his best friend one final attempt at a smile, then raised his hand in a gesture of something that was much more painful than goodbye.

Hyuga watched his friend’s back as he walked across the gymnasium, and for a fleeting moment he wished to call out, for he saw who Kiyoshi really was; the greatest friend he had ever known, and the embodiment of everything he could ever want, or need. All of the memories they shared flashed through his mind and his eyes burned with an unfamiliar sensation.

_How could I do that to him?_

Unable to find an answer, he waved back, although his best friend was long gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyuga and Kiyoshi come to terms with one-another. Lots of bro moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I put this chapter together as quickly as possible, but I hope the ending is satisfying for you readers. Enjoy!

It was Friday evening when they walked home together.

Walking home together wasn't unusual. It was always Hyuga, Kuroko, and Kagami who walked to the station and took the train to the east end of town, then went their separate ways after the fifth stop. Every Friday after practice Kiyoshi would join them and get off at the 7th stop with Hyuga. They would walk to Hyuga's house, talking, laughing, bickering.

“There's Kiyoshi-senpai.”

It had already been a week, but Hyuga hadn't taken the initiative to talk to Kiyoshi like he had suggested. It was for this reason that he was shocked to see Kiyoshi waiting for the three of them at the school gates like he always had.

Kiyoshi had waited the entire hour for them to finish practice, shower, and change. Despite this, Hyuga knew that the wound was still fresh. He could tell by the way that Kiyoshi blatantly avoided speaking to him, instead attempting to make conversation with Kuroko and Kagami until the train stopped.

"See you on Monday, Hyuga-senpai, Kiyoshi-senpai."

Hyuga nodded absentmindedly and continued to stare at his hands. The doors closed and the train began to move and quickly pick up pace, so Kiyoshi smiled and waved, although the boys were already quite a ways away.

Hyuga felt his heartbeat quicken as he realized that Kiyoshi was still on the train. 

 _Why don't we talk about this later?_  

When was “later”? Now? His hands began to shake as the train slowed down again. Was Kiyoshi going to get off, or wait until Hyuga’s stop?

The doors opened.

“See you later, Hyuga.”

It happened again. Hyuga couldn't find the words to ask him to wait; to ask him to walk home with him and have dinner; to ask him to forgive him. There was so much to discuss, and even as he watched Kiyoshi step onto the platform and wait for the automatic doors to close he couldn't utter a single word.

He pulled the fire alarm.

He didn't wait for the loud buzzing, nor for the other passengers to realize that it was he who delayed their trip home. He pushed through the parting doors and jumped onto the platform, sprinting across the road to the sidewalk on the other side and grabbing Kiyoshi’s unnaturally large hand.

“Let’s go.”

Kiyoshi followed him without hesitation, literally at his heels as they ran down the empty streets hand in hand, taking a left here or a right there, aware of each other’s lack of breath, but still running for the comfort of knowing that they would be alone together.

Hyuga could feel his heart pounding furiously against his chest, but he knew that it wasn’t the adrenaline coursing through his veins or the overexertion that made his cheeks flush and his eyes burn with that wretchedness that he had always kept hidden from Kiyoshi’s knowing eyes.

They finally stopped once they realized that they had been running without a destination, and it had become too much for Kiyoshi with his injured knee. He forced Hyuga to slow down, even squeezing his hand to signal that he was in pain.

“I—haven't ran—like that since-” Kiyoshi cut himself off. They both knew what he wanted to say, but it was too painful for either of them to even think about.

“Yeah,” Hyuga whispered, the word coming out as more of a fault in his heavy breathing than a response to the unfinished reminiscence. “Me too.”

Kiyoshi smiled and looked around as it occurred to them where they had stopped. He would never forget the memories he and Hyuga had shared at the fenced courts, and, momentarily overwhelmed by nostalgia, he felt the urge to play again despite his condition.

“The courts are free.”

Hyuga snorted.

“I didn't pull the fire alarm so we could play one-on-one, idiot.” He paused to collect his thoughts. “We need to talk.”

Kiyoshi’s smile faltered. Of course he knew why Hyuga had brought him here. He hummed a response and did his best to smile at his friend despite the pain ebbing away at his mind ever since they last spoke.

“This is where I convinced you to start the club, isn't it?” Kiyoshi asked, scanning the empty park and focusing his eyes on the fenced basketball courts. “It's been a year since then.”

Hyuga nodded solemnly. He hadn't intended to lead Kiyoshi to the courts, but his feet had seemed to move on their own, only willing to stop once they'd reached their desired destination. Although Hyuga would never admit it to himself, the nostalgia that he felt was overwhelming. He could almost feel the sweat dripping down his forehead, and hear their shoes scraping against the pavement; he could even see Kiyoshi’s smug grin as he humiliated him.

_What happened to that smile?_

He shuddered at his own thoughts. He wasn't there to dawdle on memories of the past, but to make amends for the grief that they caused.

“I'm sorry,” Hyuga began.

Kiyoshi turned to meet his friend’s gaze for the first time since they boarded the train.

“Don't apologize,” he replied, his artificial grin only putting his pain on display. “I can't play with my injury anyway. I understand your decision.”

Hyuga swallowed. Why couldn't it be that simple? Why couldn't he be so understanding a week ago? Maybe then Hyuga would've believed him, but now the wound had been given time to worsen as Kiyoshi understood what he was losing; the one thing that he was passionate about. The one thing that made his heart race just thinking about, and that filled him with joy. The one thing that made school bearable because he knew that he would see his friends at practice.

“No. You don't understand, Kiyoshi. I don't even understand how I could-”

Hyuga cut himself off as Kiyoshi's soft brown eyes filled with tears. His shoulders shook with frustration and held-back sobs, but as soon as Hyuga pulled him into his stiff embrace, everything came pouring out at once.

Kiyoshi cried angrily, sobbing in spite of the reminder that everything he had ever dreamed of had been crushed by one slip-up; just one seemingly insignificant mistake in his form, his footwork, his step. He had tried to tell himself that everything would work itself out, but there was nothing he could do.

“I'm sorry, Kiyoshi,” Hyuga repeated. “I didn't mean to hurt you, or our friendship.”

Kiyoshi nodded, gripping Hyuga’s shoulders desperately.

“I let the team down, Hyuga,” Kiyoshi whispered. “There's nothing either of us can do. I'm sure that you guys can win the Winter Cup without-”

“Then we’ll wait until next year,” Hyuga broke in, pulling away enough to see Kiyoshi’s face. “You'll be all healed up by then, right?”

Kiyoshi’s eyes filled with tears again. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He laughed and wiped his moist eyes, then returned Hyuga’s wistful smile.

“I guess we'll just have to wait until next year to kick some ass, huh?”

Hyuga nodded in agreement.

_Next year._

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sure you can infer what Hyuga decided if you're a KnB fan. If you have no idea what was going on, Hyuga basically kicked Kiyoshi off of the team because of a serious knee injury that was affecting him in practice and during games. Once again, I hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading!


End file.
